Back to Start
by Resident Bishounen
Summary: Hakkai's memories are lost after a youkai attack. Can Gojyo get them back, or even convince Hakkai that he's missing any memories in the first place before Sanzo decides to leave them behind? June 5 - Chapter 4 Edited, Chapter 5 posted. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Back to Start  
**Author:** Resident-Bishounen   
**Series:** Gensoumaden Saiyuki **  
Timeline:** Any.  
**Pairings:** Mainly 5/8 with light hinting at 3/9. Shounen-ai at best. **  
Spoilers:** Hakkai's past. Gojyo's past as it ties into Hakkai's. 

**CHAPTER ONE

* * *

**

"You called, Koushu-sama?" Ni Jyeni asked, bowing respectfully before his mistress. Sitting on her throne before him, Gyokumen Koushu paused her nail filing long enough to glance down at Ni and acknowledge his presence.

"Ah, Dr. Ni. I'm glad you're here." She proclaimed, returning to her nails. "Honestly, I don't see how such a great man can have such a useless son. It's obvious he takes after _her._" It was obvious she was referring to Kougaiji, which meant he had once again returned empty-handed. His task seemed fairly simple – kill Genjo Sanzo and bring back the Maten Sutra he held. The task became less simple when one factored Kougaiji's nature into the equation. He was, to put it simply, a gentleman. If he came across the Sanzo-party at a bad time, when they were busy with some other crisis, he would turn around and leave, preferring a fair fight to a good opportunity. The wrong sort of person for the job as far as Ni was concerned.

"He's just too soft. He'll never get the Sutra at this rate." Gyokumen complained, echoing his thoughts. It was Ni's cue.

"If I may, Koushu-sama…" he started.

"You have an idea?" Gyokumen asked, a touch of interest in her voice.

"I believe I know someone who would be appropriate for the task." He offered. One of the youkai assigned to him seemed better suited to the task than Kougaiji. He wasn't above kicking an enemy when he was down. He enjoyed it, even.

"Ah, wonderful. Send him to it, then." Gyokumen replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. Whether out of faith in Ni's choice, or due to the belief that if she sent enough assassins after Sanzo that one would eventually succeed, he didn't know. It didn't really matter.

"Very well." he said, taking leave of his mistress to delegate the order.

* * *

The past week had been a tense one for Sanzo and his companions. Sanzo had had the uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched for four days straight now, and that had made him irritable. Or more irritable than usual, at any rate. Needless to say, it had made for an unpleasant couple of days. It was now going on the 5th day of this, and things didn't look like they were going to improve anytime soon. Gojyo and Goku could sense Sanzo's uneasy mood, and weren't arguing as often. Unfortunately, for him, right now they had decided to make an exception.

"Hey! Keep you legs on your own side, stupid monkey!" Gojyo complained, nudging Goku with his feet.

"They ARE! Don't blame me if your legs are too long, pervert Kappa!" Goku insisted, kicking back. Sanzo summoned all of his restraint to keep himself from killing them right then and there. They were disturbing the peace over _legroom_?

"If you two idiots don't shut up right now, I'll kill you both right here!" Sanzo threatened, standing up and aiming his shoureiju at Gojyo for good measure. The two valued their lives, and so they shut up and sat up straight. Gojyo scooted closer to Hakkai as if he was some sort of shield. Sanzo sat back down and shook his head, catching a glimpse of Hakkai, sweatdropping. The four sat in silence for another kilometre or so, until Sanzo could no longer stand the tension. He _still _felt like he was being watched, too.

"Hakkai, stop the car." he ordered bluntly. Through loyalty or curiosity, Hakkai obeyed. Sanzo stepped out of the jeep, aiming his shoureiju into the woods on the north side of the road.

"Alright, whoever you are, you've got ten seconds to show yourselves, or I start firing!" He announced. This was apparently what their stalker was waiting for, because an annoyingly arrogant voice taunted them from the trees.

"Ha! It took you long enough to notice. I feel so threatened." It replied. Damned smartass. Sanzo fired indiscriminately into the trees.

"Not even close!" the voice taunted, but a thud told Sanzo that the speaker had either jumped out of a tree, or had fallen. Hopefully the latter.

Behind Sanzo, his companions stepped out of the jeep and readied their weapons. They could see as easily as anyone what was going to happen. At that moment, as if reacting to some unknown signal, a few dozen youkai poured out of the trees. They were your typical thugs: tall, ugly and brainless. In other words, taking care of them should be easy. Nodding to each other, they split up to take care of the group. Sanzo headed forward and offed a few with his gun before running into a large muscular youkai who stubbornly refused to die.

Hakkai took on a group of burly-looking youkai on the south side of the road with Gojyo while Sanzo and Goku were already occupied on the north side. It began fairly typically: the thugs ran at him, weapons held threateningly. Hakkai attacked from a distance with his ki attacks. It went on like this until one of them managed to avoid his blasts. When Hakkai tried again, the youkai deflected it with a blast of his own. The blast veered off to the right, smashing into another low-rank youkai. The new opponent looked somewhat higher in the grand scheme of things. He looked as though he did know what a shower was, and was much better dressed than the others as well. His opponent was a man about his height who had shoulder length white hair, red eyes, and had purplish skin. All of which lead Hakkai to reach a conclusion:

"So, these are your men?" he asked casually, readying another ki-ball.

"Did you figure that out all by yourself?" the youkai chided in that same arrogant voice that had spoken to Sanzo moments ago. Hakkai hid his annoyance. If this was the case, he wouldn't hold back. He fired the third blast wearing his usual smile. His opponent tried to dodge and failed, taking a hit to the shoulder and upper chest, stepping back. Growling, the youkai returned fire as fast as he could, and Hakkai was hit.

Now, where was he? All of a sudden, Hakkai couldn't remember what he was doing here. Or where here was, for that matter. That ceased to be a problem when he was hit by a ki-beam coming from a purplish-skinned youkai with white shoulder length hair. He immediately put up a barrier to defend himself as he assessed the situation.

Now, what was he doing here? Wasn't he just having dinner with Gojyo and the others at the Inn they'd picked out? No, he had been driving through the desert, and Gojyo and Goku were arguing just a moment ago. That was when Hakkai realized that he must be slowly losing his memories. His opponent's ki beam had to be the cause. He tried his best to think of a defense, but the only idea that occurred to him given the situation was to try to force himself to remember the most recent event he could.

Goku had managed to defeat War Prince Homura. Sanzo seemed pleased that they would be able to continue on their way, and… Hakkai couldn't remember. He tried again. He and Gojyo had gotten word that Sanzo were going to be picking them up for a rather involved mission, and so they had gone out to meet them, but before they had met up with Sanzo and Goku, they had been ambushed by a band of youkai, and.. Hakkai couldn't remember. He was lying on the dirt road, in the pouring rain, certain that he would die, when a tall man with hair and eyes as red as blood had appeared before him. The next thing he knew he had awoken… where? It was useless. Nothing he was doing was having any effect on the attack. A noise of frustration escaped his lips.

Hakkai wondered what he was trying to do, holding his hands up as he was. He lowered them. If his memories had been slowly fading before, now that his ki shield was gone, they were slowly being sucked away. Collapsing to his knees, Hakkai clutched his head in his hands, and then enemy's attack finally ceased.

Gojyo turned towards Hakkai when he had taken care of most of the thugs. Hakkai was still struggling against his opponent. Something had to be very wrong. Hakkai never took this long to finish off a thug. He ran towards the source, to find Hakkai struggling against an enemy youkai's ki. Well, if Hakkai was too busy defending to attack, then Gojyo would be more than happy to do it for him. He started sneaking closer to the white haired youkai and was just about to attack when Hakkai let out another pained yell and dropped his ki shield. Shit. This guy had to be strong to overpower Hakkai like that. He charged at the enemy with a loud growl. He swung his shakujou, the blade flying towards its target at the end of its chain, but the enemy managed to slip back into the trees and escape moments before the blade came slicing through the air where his head had been. Gojyo put his shakujou aside and turned his attention to Hakkai, sitting him up and supporting him with his arms.

"Hakkai!" he asked, worried. Hakkai seemed rather dazed. It was nerve-wracking. "Are you alright?"

Hakkai looked up at Gojyo as he would a stranger. "I'm fine." he replied politely. Gojyo relaxed his hold of Hakkai in relief, until Hakkai spoke again.

"I'm sorry, have we met?"

* * *

**END CHAPTER ONE**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Back to Start

**Author:** Resident-Bishounen

**Series: **Gensoumaden Saiyuki

**Timeline: ** Any.

**Pairings: **Mainly 5/8 with light hinting at 3/9. Shounen-ai at best.

**Spoilers:** Hakkai's past. Gojyo's past as it ties into Hakkai's.

* * *

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Hakkai stared up at Gojyo blankly, as he never had before, not even when they first met. There's no way he didn't recognize him. They'd lived together for three years! Not to mention they'd been together for who-knew-how-long on this rotten trip.

"Very funny, Hakkai." Gojyo said. Did Hakkai think the youkai were still hiding around here somewhere? He wished Hakkai wasn't so reserved. Gojyo had no idea what was going on inside that pretty little head of his. Hakkai thought quietly for a moment. It seemed to Gojyo to be ages before he finally spoke.

"Hakkai?" He eventually said. "I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else. My name is Cho Gonou." Gojyo was stunned into silence. The guy was serious, wasn't he? He honestly thought he was Gonou?

"What are you talking about! You're not Gonou anymore, you're Hakkai!" Goku insisted loudly. He and Sanzo had finished with their half of the youkai, and had come looking for them. Goku still looked tense, full of adrenaline, ready to fight again at any time, and almost as confused as Hakkai. Sanzo, on the other hand, had his arms folded, wearing an expression on his face that just said, "I'm surrounded by idiots."

"Look, let's just get to the next town before nightfall. I am NOT camping out with you morons."

Gojyo hated to admit it, but Sanzo was right. Staying there wasn't going to accomplish anything, and they could figure out what the hell was going on when they got there. He stood up and offered Hakkai, er, Gonou a hand. Gonou took it, and pulled himself up.

"How are we going to make it? We seem to be in the middle of a forest." He asked. Gojyo grinned back at him and gave him a thumbs-up sign.

"We've got it covered." Gojyo said confidently. Sanzo turned abruptly and led the group back to the road where the jeep stood waiting. It kyuued happily as the party emerged from the woods, physically unharmed. Sanzo and Goku were quick to take their customary seats, but Gonou reached out to take Gojyo's arm and stop him before he could do the same.

"Um... excuse me... uh... mister . . .," he said, not remembering Gojyo's name.

"It's Gojyo." Gojyo supplied.

"Gojyo-san... did that jeep just make a noise... on its own?"

"Yep."

"How?"

"Because it's alive."

"Alive? How?"

"It's a transforming dragon."

This piqued Gonou's curiosity, and he circled the jeep, inspecting it, tapping it in places. The jeep gave out a confused "Kyuu?" It wasn't difficult to notice how oddly its master was acting.

"Wherever did you find it?" Gonou asked.

"Uh, you did." said Gojyo.

"But... I can't drive."

Throughout this whole exchange, Sanzo's patience wore steadily thinner. He didn't care _whose_ dragon it was, as long as they got MOVING already. Eventually, he could restrain himself no longer.

"Just GET IN or I'm leaving you BOTH BEHIND!" He bellowed. The threat worked, and Gonou set aside his curiosity and took a seat in the back, beside Goku, leaving Gojyo to drive.

* * *

By early evening, the Sanzo party had arrived at the next town and had located an Inn. They only had two rooms available, but luckily for them, they were both double rooms. As the four headed upstairs to the rooms, Sanzo dictated the sleeping arrangements.

"Goku is with me in room 208." He said, pointing to the closer of the two rooms. "Gojyo and the amnesiac get 212." He dictated.

"Yaaay! I don't have to room with Gojyo!" Goku cheered, obviously satisfied with the deal.

"Hey! Don't sound so cheerful!" Gojyo complained. "And what about Hakkai?"

"That's your problem." Sanzo said. Gojyo couldn't believe his ears.

"And you're just going to go sit back with a cigarette and a newspaper?" He accused.

"No. I'm going to get supplies. Come on, Goku."

Gojyo stood there blinking as the monk left with his pet. Was he going deaf? Genjo Sanzo? Doing his OWN shopping? Somebody, alert the press! Well, that made up for being abandoned with Gonou. Things would be perfect if only Hakkai were back to normal.

"Fine." he said, and turned back to Gonou.

Gonou followed Gojyo and his friends to the Inn and waited politely as they decided who would be stuck with him. Gonou hated this. He felt so helpless. He hated being such a burden on Gojyo, but until he found out where he was, and how he'd gotten here, not to mention what had happened to Kanan, he couldn't really do much else. Besides, who was this 'Hakkai' they kept mistaking him for, and where had he gone? Once a decision had been made, Gojyo turned back to him.

"Come on, our room's this way." Gojyo said, and led Gonou down the hall to another room. Lacking any other options, Gonou followed. He hated to be such a burden to Gojyo-san and his friends, but as long as he didn't know where he was, or what he was doing here, he didn't really have much choice. With any luck, he could repay them later. Once he and Gojyo arrived at their room, Gonou took a seat on the bed as Gojyo paced in front of him, trying to explain the situation.

"So, where are we?" Gonou asked, taking a deep breath. He hadn't recognized anything on the road as they had headed into town. The town itself was new to him, and because they'd rented rooms at an inn told Gonou that it was new to Gojyo and his friends, too. He could tell he wasn't going to like Gojyo's answer.

"Uh, I don't know exactly, but we've been heading west for quite a while now." Gojyo explained, fidgeting nervously. Heading west? Why would he do that? He had everything he had ever wanted back home: a decent job doing something he enjoyed, a nice house, and his precious Kanan at his side.

"Why? Where's Kanan?" He asked. Gojyo paced the room nervously for a moment more before answering.

"We're tagging along with Sanzo and his monkey to stop some nutcase's attempts to revive Gyuumaou, partly because he's bad news, and partly because it's spreading minus waves that are making the youkai go crazy." Gojyo said. Gonou sprang to his feet, alarmed, and took a step towards Gojyo.

"What? If that's true, I can't stay here! I need to go back and protect Kanan!" he started towards the door, but before he could reach it, Gojyo held out his hands to stop him. Apparently, he hadn't finished speaking.

"You can't." He said, continuing before Gonou could do anything but open his mouth. "I know this is the _last_ thing you need to hear right now, and I hate to be the one to have to tell you this, but..." Gojyo trailed off, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"But?" prompted Gonou. Gojyo took a deep breath and continued.

"But she's... dead. She died over three years ago."

"That's impossible!" Gonou protested, growing more irritated by the second. Gojyo tried to explain what had happened. He told Gonou bout the sacrifice. About Gonou's desperate attempts to rescue her. About being turned into a youkai. About Gojyo finding him there in the dirt and taking him home, and finally, about turning himself over to Sanzo and being given a new chance at life. He was rewarded with a glare as cold as ice.

"How DARE you make up a story like that." He said.

"It's not a story, its true! If I'm lying, then why is that scar there on your stomach?" Gojyo sounded desperate for Gonou to believe him, but he couldn't. He refused to. Something so horrific couldn't be true. Gonou had to get out. He couldn't listen to this anymore. Kanan, sacrificed to a youkai lord? He would never have allowed it!

"I just can't believe that." He said softly, and left the room, letting the door swing shut behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Back to Start  
**Author:** Resident-Bishounen  
**Series:** Gensoumaden Saiyuki  
**Timeline:** Any.  
**Pairings:** Mainly 5/8 with light hinting at 3/9. Shounen-ai at best.  
**Spoilers:** Hakkai's past. Gojyo's past as it ties into Hakkai's.

Well crap. Gojyo'd handled that just brilliantly, hadn't he? He knew Gonou wasn't going to take the news well, but Gojyo had not expected him to run. Swear at him, punch him and even try to rip his lungs out, but not run away! Man, if only he had some sort of clue as to what had happened, he might be able to actually do something to help. Instead, all he could do was stay with him and hope that he remembered. Or, watch him storm off angrily, as things had turned out. Gojyo took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Staying here wouldn't do any good after all. He had to go find Gonou, and try to explain things again. He headed for the door, which opened by itself just before he got there. Sanzo and the monkey had returned. Of course, it didn't take Sanzo long to notice that Gonou was missing.

"Where's Hakkai?" He asked, in that it's-not-my-problem way of his.

"I ... don't know." Gojyo admitted.

"What do you _mean_ you don't know? You were supposed to be watching him!" Sanzo shouted angrily, giving Gojyo a whack with his fan for good measure.

"I was tryin' to tell him why he was here with us, but he got pissed an' stormed off!" Gojyo said. Sanzo only glared at him in reply, so he continued. "I was going to go after him when _somebody_ interrupted." he walked around Sanzo and tried to leave again when Sanzo grabbed Gojyo's arm, stopping him. Gojyo looked back and opened his mouth to complain, but stopped when he saw what he had in his other hand. A pack of cigarettes, but not Sanzo's usual Marlboros. They were Gojyo's brand.

"Here." Sanzo said. "The last thing I need is to have to listen to you bitching about being out of cigarettes on top of everything else."

"Thaaaank you." Gojyo said, accepting the pack and pulling one out almost immediately. As Gojyo smoked, Sanzo complained.

"I'm fed up with these constant delays. If that amnesiac wants to take off, we'll just leave without him." Gojyo tried to ignore Sanzo's ranting. He always said this sort of thing whenever anything happened to break up the 'drive. sleep. kill assassins' routine. It was tough, though. How could he be willing to dismiss them at times like this?

"But Sanzo, Hakuryuu belongs to Hakkai. He won't leave him behind." Goku pointed out. At least the monkey was on Gojyo's side.

"So we'll walk." Sanzo was undeterred.

"He didn't say he wanted to ditch us." Gojyo tried again. "He just doesn't know who he is."

"Exactly. He's nothing but a liability this way."

"We can't just leave him here!"

"Yeah! Can't we try and help Hakkai? Please?" Even with Goku supporting Gojyo, Sanzo sat and fumed for a moment before finally caving.

"You have until tomorrow morning." He conceded. "If he's not back by then, I'm leaving." Gojyo extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray and made a third attempt for the door.

"I'll definitely bring him back." He said, finally making it to the door, rushing through before Sanzo had a chance to change his mind.

* * *

Gonou wandered around the strange town as he tried to clear his head and make sense of things. When he came across an empty bench in a public park, he sat down. It was a decent-sized park, considering the size of the town. A few paths lead around it towards the sports field lined in trees and bushes at the south end of the park, then back again to the small playground to the north. The playground was covered in sand, and contained a set of three swings, and arched monkey bars that connected to a platform. The platform connected to a slide on the other end. There were scattered groups of children playing in the sand and on various pieces of equipment, and watching them made Gonou feel more at peace. 

Gojyo-san had _sounded_ like he as being honest when he spoke of the horrible things that had happened. It just sounded so ridiculous. It couldn't possibly be true, could it? But how could Gojyo-san be telling the truth _and_ lying? There wasn't much he could use to verify the story. Except he'd said Gonou'd sustained great injuries that were supposed to have left him with a large scar across his stomach. If the scar truly was there, then Gojyo's story was true. Perhaps he should find a restroom and check. That would answer the question, but… he was reluctant. What would he do if it were there? He wasn't ready to face up to the implications just yet.

Just then, someone sat down on the bench beside Gonou. He looked up at the newcomer. It was a youkai of average height and build, with purplish skin and white, chin-length hair.

"What's wrong?" the youkai asked, leaning forward. "You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders." Gonou noticed an odd look in his eye, but the youkai didn't seem out of the ordinary. "Hey, I don't mind if you'd rather keep it to yourself. You look like your world has come crashing down around you." Gonou forced a smile. He certainly had a lot to think about, but he must be looking worse than he thought, to warrant that many clichés.

"I'd say that's about accurate," he said.

"Care to talk about it?" the youkai asked, sounding not entirely unlike a school guidance counselor

"Well, I'm not sure why, but it seems I've lost some of my memory. My friends have been trying to fill me in, but it's very hard to believe." Gonou explained, still thinking of the argument with Gojyo. If someone had lied to him about what had happened and he was just repeating it, he could be telling an incorrect story and still believe it to be true. It was Gonou's only hope.

"Are you sure they're your friends?" asked the youkai, interrupting Gonou's thoughts. Gojyo was surprised. That possibility hadn't even crossed his mind.

"What do you mean?" he replied. The youkai took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully before speaking.

"Well, this must be convenient for them, with your memory gone. They can tell you whatever they want and have you believe it. They could be lying to you to try and turn you to their side," he suggested. Gonou hadn't expected someone he didn't know (or didn't seem to know) to be too sympathetic, but it was unnerving for something like this to be suggested so suddenly. Gojyo-san wasn't that kind of person, was he?

* * *

Gojyo wandered around the town, searching for his friend, with no luck. Dammit, this was all Sanzo's fault. Everything was fine before the youkai attack. Why'd he have to go and provoke them? Gojyo stopped, and leaned against a building. This was useless. He was going to have to get smarter with his searching or he'd never find Hakkai. So, if he were Hakkai, where would he go? The market was out, since Sanzo had his credit card. A library maybe? Was this town even big enough to have one? A schoolyard or park maybe? That seemed to be the most likely candidates. He stopped the nearest person to ask where the parks were. 

"A park? There's one down that street there, to the left," the woman answered. Calling a thanks over his shoulder, Gojyo hurried down the street towards the park. By the time he arrived he was a little out of breath, but it was worth it; he'd hit pay dirt. On a bench beside the playground sat Hakkai. Next to him was someone that seemed oddly familiar. It was a youkai of average height and build, with purplish skin and white, chin-length hair. Recognition hit him. That's where he'd seen that guy before! He was the leader of the band of youkai who'd attacked earlier! It was _his_ fault that Hakkai's memory was gone!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Hey, Hakkai! Stay away from that guy!" Gojyo called, hurrying to Hakkai's side. Hakkai remained where he was, puzzled.

"Why? What's the matter, Gojyo-san?" He asked.

"Because he's the one that zapped your memory, that's why!" Gojyo thrust an accusing finger at the youkai. The youkai rose to his feet, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"But this man said his name was Gonou. Surely even someone who's lost their memory still remembers their own name." He took a step towards Gojyo, his voice calm. "It seems to me that you're just trying to mislead the poor man." Gojyo, of course, was quick to retaliate, but while the two argued about which was more trustworthy, Gonou sat where he was and thought. The youkai had a point. He hadn't forgotten everything, after all. Just a few years. But on the other hand, this man had no more proof of his claim than did Gojyo. In fact, if Gojyo's story were true, he would have more evidence: the scar. Gonou hadn't had the courage to see if it was there. Besides, try as he might, Gonou just couldn't believe that Gojyo was lying, despite the terrible story Gojyo'd told him. Sure, he hadn't known either of them long, but he had no trouble believing the youkai was lying.

"Look, I know what I saw. Hakkai got into his fight with you and the next thing I know he doesn't even recognise me!" Gojyo shouted, his fists shaking at his sides. The youkai remained strangely calm, looking at Gojyo the way one would a misbehaving child.

"This is ridiculous." He said. "Your friend has an accident in the woods and you blame the first suspicious-looking person you see because you can't accept the fact that you failed to protect him." Gojyo glared furiously in response.

"He doesn't need my protection. He can protect himself!" Gojyo shouted, then stopped and calmed himself. It was almost more frightening than if he'd gotten more violent. He took a number of deep breaths before speaking again. "How did you know it happened in the woods?" He asked. "Did you tell him, Hakkai?" Gonou shook his head.

"No, I didn't." he said, and the two turned in unison back to the white-haired Youkai. He'd paled visibly, and a bead of sweat made its way down his temple. He'd even begun to stutter.

"L-lucky g-guess?" He said.

"That seems very unlikely." Gonou said, finally rising from the park bench. "Didn't you already say you're suspicious-looking?" The youkai took one step backwards after another, until he backed into the wall surrounding the park.

"Very well, you've found me out. I was the one who erased your memories, Gonou. If you want them back, you'll have to meet me in the open field across the river. He leapt up onto the wall just as Gojyo made a grab for him, narrowly avoiding capture. He laughed arrogantly at them for a moment, and then disappeared on the far side of the wall.

* * *

Sanzo sat, staring at his newspaper, smoking and thinking about recent events. He'd always thought of Hakkai as the most tolerable of his three servants. Gojyo, of course, was almost useless, except that he fought well and was a convenient supply of lighters. Goku he couldn't get rid of even if he wanted to, but was still useful. He fought better than Gojyo, and actually respected his leadership and his judgement. This was a plus. On the other hand, he was even more brainless than the roach. There was no way he'd be able to stand making the rest of the trip with just those two. On foot, to boot. Hakkai didn't share Goku's respect, but he could cook, and he could drive and sometimes it seemed he was the only one in the group with a brain other than himself. Hakkai would be able to re-learn how to drive. He was self-taught to begin with. He could still cook, and even if he'd forgotten how to manipulate his ki, he was still strong enough to take down his fair share of enemies. But without his memories of the past four years, would he be willing to even try to continue? He'd probably want to turn back, find himself a cushy teaching job and settle down. And who could blame him? As Sanzo delighted in reminding everyone, he hadn't asked anyone to accompany him.

"Great... just what I needed. More dead weight slowing me down." He complained.

"Hakkai's gonna get his memories back! I know it!" the monkey was lying on a bed on the other side of the room, the dragon curled up on his stomach. He was annoyingly cheerful and optimistic, even now. Sanzo folded up his newspaper, setting it down at the table.

"With Gojyo doing all the work? We'll be lucky if Hakkai remembers anything by the time we get to India." He said, rubbing out his cigarette. "Come on, let's hurry and get this over with."

A loud bang echoed through the room, and Sanzo jumped in his seat, and Hakuryuu leapt from Goku's tummy behind the end table nearby. Twisting towards the door, he reached into his robes for his gun. At the door stood Gojyo, foot raised to hip height, having just kicked the door open. Wishing he hadn't just extinguished his cigarette, Sanzo let go of the gun, still in his sleeve, and searched instead for his whacking-fan.

"Goddamn it! I can't believe that guy!" He bitched, stomping over to the bed and dropping himself onto it. The fact that the bed was already occupied didn't appear to slow him in the slightest.

"OW! Hey, watch it! I'm lying here!" Goku shouted, digging his way out from under the covers, and from under Gojyo.

"Would you both SHUT UP!" Sanzo bellowed over the noise. Dammit. Sanzo knew he'd put that whacking fan in there somewhere...

"We found the one who sealed my memories." Hakkai was so quiet, Sanzo almost didn't hear him. Even so, it caught everybody's attention quickly. Sanzo sat back down, and Goku and Gojyo quit their argument on the bed.

"Really? Does that mean you remember us now?" Goku asked. Hakkai said nothing, but shook his head slowly.

"He says he wants to face us tomorrow, in some field across a river from here." Gojyo said. So, a leader of an otherwise generic gang of Youkai zaps Hakkai's memory, admits it, and then wants to fight? What the heck was he trying to accomplish? Sanzo realized it was obviously a trap, but what kind? Why choose this method of luring them there? It didn't seem to make any sense.

"Which way is this river?" He asked, wishing once again that he hadn't extinguished that cigarette.

"North, I think." said Gojyo, having the nerve to pull out one of his shitty cigarettes and lighting it. Whacking fan, where was Sanzo's precious whacking fan?!

"So it's wasting our time AND it's out of our way."

"But we ARE gonna go and get Hakkai's memories back, aren't we?" Goku sat beside Gojyo, on the very edge of the bed, looking up at Sanzo. Sanzo finally found his fan, and gave Goku a swat.

"Idiot. Of course we are. Now get out of my room so I can sleep!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - The Conclusion  
Yes, it did take me bloody long enough to finish.**

The next morning, Gonou stood in the bathroom in front of the mirror. He'd risen and bathed that morning automatically, as he usually did. Without much thought or observance of his surroundings. That's why it wasn't until he was clean and drying his hair that he noticed it. A scar. A huge, hideous scar, running from his right hip to left waist. It was the one Gojyo'd told him about. According to Gojyo, he'd received the injury from a Youkai prince after . . . after Kanan died. As believable as Gojyo was, Gonou was still hoping the scar wouldn't be there. But it was. Concrete proof that Gojyo was telling the truth. He'd lost all memory of the past four years. _Four years!_ Four years of grief. Of pure, unrestrained anger. Of loss. But also, four years of happiness. Of freedom. Of a brand-new start on life. How had he met Gojyo-san and his friends? If he'd really killed all those people, how could he have been allowed to go free? Gojyo-san had said that Sanzo-san had interjected on his behalf, but how? Why?

He didn't know how long he stood there, staring absently into the mirror, towel abandoned on his head. He only stopped staring when there was a knock at the door. Gonou blinked. The door opened before he'd begun to think about answering.

"Oi, Hakkai! Are you sick in there or something?" Gojyo's face popped out from behind the door as it swung open.

"G-Gojyo-san!" Hakkai grabbed the towel from his head and wrapped it hurriedly around his waist. "N-no, I'm fine."

"Fine? It's never taken you this long before." Gojyo stepped inside and leaned against the wall beside the door frame. Gonou took a deep breath and smiled at Gojyo as warmly as he could manage, but Gojyo's deadpan expression told him Gojyo wasn't buying it. He sighed, and turned to face him.

"The scar." Gojyo said. Hakkai said nothing, but crossed his arms over his waist, staring at the floor. The silence lasted several awkward moments before Gojyo finally broke it.

"Look, you heard what that weird Youkai said. He's the one that took your memories. And if he took them, all we have to do is take 'em back. It'll all be over until this time tomorrow." He turned back to the door, opening it.

"I suppose so." Gonou forced himself to smile, although he wasn't sure he was entirely successful.

"Just hang on until tomorrow. It'll all make sense then." Gojyo repeated, and then left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

It took two hours of driving to reach the place the purple-skinned youkai had mentioned. A field that had been harvested less than a month prior. The youkai stood in the exact middle, a handful of mercenaries and bounty hunters flanking him on either side. Behind the wheel, Gojyo brought the Jeep off-road and through the field like a roller coaster on its track, barely slowing down.

Gojyo was the first out of the jeep. He stood in front of the purple youkai and his bounty hunters, raising his hand and summoning his shakujo. He brought it back down as Sanzo took up a spot to his left and reloaded his gun. Goku leaped out of the jeep, summoning his nyoi-bo. With a chuckle, he ran over to line up beside Sanzo. Lastly, Gonou swung his over the side of the jeep, stood up, and joined the line to Gojyo's right. The purple youkai stared at them, his face growing paler and paler as each person joined the line, until he was almost pink.

"What's the matter, grape-face? You look surprised to see us." Gojyo narrowed his eyes and grinned. In response, the purple youkai took a step back.

"No. No! You can't all have made it here," he said, as if he could change reality by denying it enough times.

"Oh? Why not?" Sanzo pointed the barrel of his gun squarely at the purple youkai's forehead, staring down it at him.

"My research was perfect! Cho Hakkai is the calming influence of your group. Without him there to impose order, you should have killed each other by now." the youkai insisted. Gonou didn't know whether to be flattered that their opponent thought so highly of him, or insulted that he thought so little of the other three. Perhaps he would if he regained his memories.

"When I kill these idiots," Sanzo said, taking a step forward, "I won't need any help from someone like you." Sanzo fired. The purple youkai threw himself at the ground, and the bullet flew over his head, striking a bounty hunter behind him.

And so the battle began. The purple youkai remained where he was, while the crowd of miscellaneous youkai and bounty hunters charged for the group. Gojyo-san and his friends had also split up and charged into the battle, Gonou noticed. Or most of them did. Sanzo didn't move much either, except to dodge an attack, concentrating on firing round after round from his gun. Goku was easier to hear than see, darting here and there among his attackers, shouting loud war-cries as he handed out concussions and cracked skulls with his nyoi-bo. Gojyo was trying to make his way to the far side of the crowd, using his shakujo to push attackers out of his way rather than inflict injury.

Gonou stood where he was. Unlike the other three, he had no weapon. He didn't have very much in the way of muscles, either, and so, he was useless in battle. If their journey was dangerous enough that Gojyo-san and his friends all needed weapons why Gonou even come along? And why didn't he have a weapon of his own? There had to be /some/ reason.

It was a loud battle cry that snapped Gonou out of his thoughts. Coming from behind and above him, descending fast. He spun around quickly, launching a counterattack before he even had time to think about what he was doing. The attacker was knocked away from Gonou by a ball of green energy. It dissipated as the enemy's body slammed into the dirt, leaving a number of burns where it had made contact. How had that happened? Gonou thrust his palm towards another bounty hunter, raising a sword to his left, but succeeded only in slamming it into the bounty hunter's chest. Who fell over when a bullet flew through his skull. Sanzo had made his way to Gonou while his back was turned.

"I'll take care of this." Sanzo waved his gun in Gojyo's general direction. "Go help that stupid kappa."

Gonou nodded, staring at his hands. Now he knew why he didn't carry a weapon. But how had he done that? Frustratingly, once he began /thinking/ about using the ki attack, he couldn't do it. Exhaling sharply, he dodged, shoved, and kicked his way through the mob towards Gojyo.

"Damned blueberry!" Gojyo swung the staff of his shakujo, sending the chained blade flying through the air towards his opponent's neck. "You're gonna pay for what you did to Hakkai!" The purple youkai dropped to the ground as the blade sliced through the air above his head, taking off a good centimetre's length of hair. He kicked outwards, connecting just above Gojyo's knee. Gojyo fell forward, bringing the end of the shakujo into the earth to prop himself up. As close to the side of the youkai's leg as he could manage.

"I have the key to your friend's locked memories." The youkai's voice didn't waver, and he stared directly into Gojyo's eyes as he spoke. A few beads of sweat fell down the youkai's face. "If you kill me, you'll never get them back." He rose to his feet.

"And if you don't want to die, you'll unlock them before I kill you!" Gojyo shouted, swinging the shakujo once more for the youkai's head. The youkai back stepped, raising his hands to protect his face. Gojyo pressed forward, and the youkai retreated, letting out a nervous squeak.

As the purple youkai grew more and more desperate, an odd thing began happening to Gonou. A strange feeling, like some benevolent goddess was pouring a stream of knowledge, memories, and information directly into his mind. Of course, /that/ was how he'd lost Kanan. He could remember it so clearly now. He was still surprised he'd survived.

No, of course he'd survived. Gojyo'd saved him. The surprising part was that he hadn't been abandoned in a dungeon after he'd turned himself in.

No, of course he'd been released. Sanzo'd testified on his behalf. But what was everyone doing so far from home?

The purple youkai picked up a rock, hurling it at Gojyo. It connected with Gojyo's ribs as he had his arms raised to swing the shakujo. Clenching his teeth shut, Gojyo brought the staff back down, the chain swinging outwards and twisting it around the purple youkai's left leg. Gojyo gave it a tug and the youkai fell backwards. As the youkai's skull connected with the ground, the last drop of the stream of memories fell into place.

Cho Hakkai took a deep breath, and then pulled his face into a smile. He walked up to the purple youkai, taking a spot beside Gojyo. He began forming a glowing mass of ki in his right hand.

"Gonou-san!" The purple youkai leaped on the opportunity. "Didn't I tell you your friends were crazy? They're cold-blooded murderers. How can you trust them over me?"

"I think you have me confused for someone else. My name is Hakkai." said Hakkai, and he launched his attack.


End file.
